Organised food retail culture is fast catching up in the city but Delhiites are not yet shifting their loyalties from mom-&-pop stores From a hawker's tindas, karelas and baigans, to packaged zucchini, broccoli and cherry tomatoes, the Indian consumer has come a long way. Organised retail and the steady mushrooming of hypermarkets, supermarkets and departmental stores in the country have roused the appetite of consumers looking for variety and economy. Organised retail accounts for a mere 4% of the $322 billion market, which is poised to double over the next five years, according to a recent study conducted by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). But statistics alone can't gauge the extent to which organised retail has reached out to the urban shopper, pampered for years by the friendly neighbourhood kirana (mom-and-pop) stores with free home delivery, trust-based credit and the comfort of being known by name. Sadashiv Nayak, CEO, Food Bazaar, says of a shopper torn between the urge to explore and the need to follow the dictates of habit, consumers present endless opportunities. "We want to change habits and drive consumption to a much higher level: for instance, introduce variants to a brand they are accustomed to putting in their shopping cart. What drives a consumer to a particular store for everyday groceries is a combination of demographics, social conditioning and levels of comfort with a new format.' Committed to kirana The Knowledge Company, a division of Technopak-Mindscape, spoke to over 2,500 housewives (SEC A, B and C households) across 17 cities, and found that the average Indian housewife still shops at the kirana store for milk, vegetables and other perishable essentials. Like 65-year-old Bala Kumar of Hauz Khas who has not shifted loyalties from her kirana, Anil Stores, despite a Big Apple store in the market. He is so polite, she says of her grocer.